John Lennon: Give Peace A Chance | The Beatles Bible Give Peace A Chance Yoko Ono : vocals Tommy Smothers: guitar Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, Petula Clark, Rosemary Woodruff, Derek Taylor , Murray the K, Dick Gregory, Abraham Feinberg, others: vocals Canadian chapter of Radha Krishna Temple: vocals, drums, finger cymbals Available on: John Lennon Anthology John Lennon's first non-Beatles single, the anthemic Give Peace A Chance, was recorded on the penultimate day of his and Yoko Ono's second bed-in for peace, in room 1742 of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. It wasn't like 'You have to have peace!' Just give it a chance. We ain't giving any gospel here - just saying how about this version for a change? We think we have the right to have a say in the future. And we think the future is made in your mind. John Lennon, 1980 All We Are Saying, David Sheff Lennon and Ono had arrived in Toronto on 25 May hoping to begin their second bed-in for peace.

The next day they checked in to La Hotel Reine Elizabeth in Montreal, where they stayed for a week. During their stay they gave a succession of interviews to the world's media, and received dozens of visits from friends and well-wishers. Well, after being interviewed for weeks and weeks and weeks, night and day, with Yoko and me talking about peace from our beds, I had those words coming out of my mouth or Yoko's - wherever the hell they came from - and it became a song. John Lennon, 1980 All We Are Saying, David Sheff Lennon used the phrase "All we are saying is give peace a chance" during an interview on the first day of the bed-in. Over the next few days he worked up a melody and lyrics, and recorded the song during the final day of the event. The song was intentionally simple, with two chords and a chorus which anyone could join in on. The verses, meanwhile, were largely nonsense, although the third verse contained the word 'masturbation'; this was changed by Lennon to 'mastication' in the published lyrics, as Lennon wished to avoid courting controversy.

On the day of recording Lennon instructed Apple's press officer Derek Taylor to arrange for recording equipment to be brought to the hotel suite. Taylor contacted a local studio owner, André Perry, who brought four microphones and a four-track recorder. During the recording Lennon and Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers played acoustic guitars. A wardrobe door was repeatedly opened and closed to provide a rhythm, and the various assembled guests sang during the choruses. The first number of Lennon's "2, 1, 2, 3, 4" count-in was left off the released version, as it was partially obscured by feedback. The entire recording was filmed, and released as two separate promotional films in the subsequent months. Give Peace A Chance was captured in a single take, although a rehearsal prior to the recording was also taped. The rehearsal was later released on 1998's John Lennon Anthology box set. The performance featured a range of guests including LSD guru Timothy Leary and his wife Rosemary, the poet Allen Ginsbert, the singer Petula Clark and the US radio DJ Murray the K. Also present were members of the Canadian branch of Radha Krishna Temple, who sang and played percussion.

Although Lennon was delighted with the recording of Give Peace A Chance, Perry worried that it had too much distortion. In the early hours of 2 June more vocals were overdubbed to improve the sound and make it suitable for release as a single. Because of the condition of the room being bad, it's as if you put big speakers in such a small enclosure. Too much noise and in a small environment, and what was going on was the tape picking this up. So it wouldn't have been usable. Originally there were no intentions to have any over-dubs done. But when I left John, he looked at me and I said, 'Well, I'll go back to the studio and listen to this and see what it's like.' And then I decided upon myself that the background was a bit too noisy and needed a little 'sweeping.' By this I mean, we kept all the original stuff, we just kind of like, improved it a bit by adding if you like, some voices. So we called a bunch of people in the studio that night, I did, actually that was my decision. And that's probably why John gave me such a credit on the single because I think he thought I took the incentive of doing that.

And since it was multi-track I dubbed the original 4-track to an 8-track machine and then used the other 4-track to overdub some voices. The next day I went back to John, made a mix of that I went back to him and they moved everybody out of the room and it was just the three of us, with Yoko, and I played it for him and he thought it was wonderful. Kept it 'as is.' There's another story going around about overdubbing in London, England. Nothing was overdubbed in England. The actual 45 that existed originally is the actual recording. There was also in certain books, references to overdubbing in England, that's not true. The only thing that was overdubbed, like I said, is some of these people, and the reason why I did it, is I wanted to give him some kind of option. You see the point of the matter, it's not that we wanted to cheat anything, it was a question of like, not usable, the condition was absolutely terrible. What we did is by taking the original stuff that was there, and just adding a few voices in a cleaner environment, cleaner recording environment.

André Perry Beatlology magazine Another song, Yoko Ono's Remember Love, was also recorded in room 1742, after the guests had left. The tape was then sent to England for mastering, and several weeks later it was issued as a single. Yoko Ono/John Lennon* - Unfinished Music No. 1. Two Virgins. (CD, Album) at Discogs Research [Studio One Archivist] – Karla Merrifield Notes Released in a green-tinted jewel case stamped with the Rykodisc logo. Includes numbered innercard. Tracks 1 & 2: Recorded in John Lennon's home studio in Weybridge, Surrey, England, May 1968. Track 3: (B-side to Give Peace A Chance) Produced by John and Yoko. Recorded in Room 1742 Hotel La Reine, Elizabeth, Montreal by Les Studios Andre Perry, 7585 Malo, Ville De Brossard, P.Q. Canada, June 1, 1969. Total Program: 33:10 May 1968. Made in Merrie England.

Tray insert (outside): ©+℗1997 Yoko Ono. Manufactured and marketed by Rykodisc under exclusive license. Write for a free catalog: Rykodisc USA, Shetland Park, 27 Congress Street, Salem, MA 01970 Rykodisc Europe, 78 Stanley Gardens, London, W3 7SZ, England. The green-tinted jewel box is a trademark of Rykodisc. Printed in the USA. Manufactured in Canada. Barcode and Other Identifiers Matrix / Runout: DADR 0YZS2<0910>RCD10411 Barcode: 0 14431 04112 9 Label Code: LC2619 John Lennon - Yoko Ono Bed-In John and Yoko Bed-In. Original photo of John and Yoko by Ted Church "Our life together is so precious together." -- from (Just Like) Starting Over, by John Lennon Every generation has its couples who mesmerize the public.

In the late 1960s, none felt the worldwide glare of the press more than Beatle John Lennon and then-girlfriend Yoko Ono. The two met in London in November 1966, at an Ono performance-art exhibition. Many blamed Ono for the break-up of the Beatles, which became official with the group's last public appearance in January 1969. But John and Yoko's story, like most romances, is more complicated than it seems. In the summer of 1968, John and Yoko moved in together, in Ringo Starr's London flat. October 18 that same year, the couple was arrested and charged with marijuana possession. Lennon claimed the drugs were planted by the police, but subsequently pled guilty to the charges on November 1, 1968. That petty conviction that would haunt him for years. A week later, his divorce from first wife Cynthia Lennon was granted. Three days after that, John and Yoko's first album collaboration, "Two Virgins," was released. The cover showed nude photos of the lovers front and back, and was banned.

On March 20, 1969, the couple wed in Gibraltar. The following week, the two master media manipulators used their celebrity for good, hosting a honeymoon "bed-in" for peace in room 902, the presidential suite of the Amsterdam Hilton. The press avidly pursued them, assuming that the famous nudists would make love for their cameras. Instead, the pajama-clad newlyweds spoke out about world peace. It was the honeymoon as performance art, interlaced with a protest against the Vietnam War. Lennon's "The Ballad of John and Yoko" chronicles the week in song: "Drove from Paris to the Amsterdam Hilton / Talking in our bed for a week / The news people said / 'Hey, what you doin' in bed?'/ I said, 'We're only tryin' to get us some peace!'" For a week, John and Yoko give interviews, ignoring the mockery and hostility to spread their words of peace to a global audience. London's Daily Mirror noted: "A not inconsiderable talent seems to have gone completely off his rocker." Mid-May, the couple planned to mount a second bed-in, this time in New York.

Authorities at the US Embassy in London refused to issue Lennon a visa because of his earlier marijuana arrest. So on May 24, 1969, John and Yoko flew to the Bahamas. John found the island it too hot and humid to stay in bed there for a week. So they abruptly left. The newlyweds headed north, taking corner suite rooms 1738-40-42 at the stately Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on May 26, 1969 to stage their second weeklong bed-in for peace. As Dave Bist, a reporter for the Montreal Gazetterecalled, "All kinds of people came to pay their respects, from comedian-singer Tommy Smothers to L'il Abner cartoonist Al Capp, who kind of betrayed the price of entry by getting into a shouting match with the Peaceful Pair." On June 1, 1969, the call went out for recording equipment. A guitar was found for Tommy Smothers. Oversize lyrics went up on the walls. And John and Yoko, along with a roomful of people that included Dr.

Timothy Leary, Montreal Rabbi Abraham Feinberg, musicians Derek Taylor and Petula Clark, and members of the Canadian Radha Krishna Temple in the chorus, recorded "Give Peace a Chance." The single is credited to "The Plastic Ono Band." Five weeks later, on July 7, the 45 was released in the United States. "Give Peace a Chance" reached no. 14 on Billboard's chart -- and inspired an entire generation to chant a song of peace along with John and Yoko. John Lennon John Lennon Born on October 9, 1940, Liverpool, England, died December 8, 1980, New York City, New York, USA. John Winston Ono Lennon has been exhumed in print more than any other popular musical figure, including the late Elvis Presley , of whom Lennon said that he "died when he went into the army". Such was the cutting wit of a deeply loved and sadly missed giant of the twentieth century. As a member of the world's most successful group ever, he changed lives, mostly for the better. Following the painful collapse of the Beatles, he came out a wiser but angrier person.

Together with his wife Yoko Ono , he attempted to transform the world through nonmusical means. To many they appeared as nave crackpots; Ono in particular has been victim of some appalling insults in the press. One example shown in the film Imagine depicts the cartoonist Al Capp being both hostile and dangerously abusive. Their bed-in in Amsterdam and Montreal, their black bag appearances on stage, their innocent flirting with political activists and radicals, all received massive media attention. These events were in search of world peace, which regrettably was unachievable. What Lennon did achieve, however, was to educate us all to the idea of world peace. During the Gulf War of 1991, time and time again various representatives of those countries who were initially opposed to war (and then asked for a cease-fire), unconsciously used Lennon's words; "Give Peace A Chance". The importance of that lyric could never have been contemplated, when a bunch of mostly stoned members of the Plastic Ono Band sat on the floor of the Hotel La Reine and recorded "Give Peace A Chance", a song that has grown in stature since its release in 1969.

Lennon's solo career began a year earlier with Unfinished Music No 1 - Two Virgins . The sleeve depicted him and Ono standing naked, and the cover became better known than the disjointed sound effects contained within. Three months later Lennon continued his marvelous joke on us, with Unfinished Music No 2 - Life With The Lions . One side consisted of John and Yoko calling out to each other during her stay in a London hospital while pregnant. Lennon camped by the side of her bed during her confinement and subsequent miscarriage. Four months after "Give Peace a Chance", "Cold Turkey" arrived via the Plastic Ono Band, consisting of Lennon, Ono, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White. This raw rock song about heroin withdrawal was also a hit, although it failed to make the UK Top 10. Again, Lennon's incorrigible wit worked when he sent back his MBE to the Queen, protesting about the Biafran war, Britain supporting the American involvement in Vietnam and "Cold Turkey" slipping down the charts.

In February 1970, a freshly cropped-headed Lennon was seen performing "Instant Karma" on the BBC Television program Top Of The Pops ; this drastic action was another antiwar protest. This Phil Spector - produced offering was his most melodic post-Beatles song to date and was his biggest hit thus far in the UK and the USA. The release of John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band in January 1971 was a shock to the system for most Beatles' fans. This stark "primal scream" album was recorded following treatment with Dr. Arthur Janov. It is as brilliant as it is disturbing. Lennon poured out much of his bitterness from his childhood and adolescence, neat and undiluted. The screaming "Mother" finds Lennon grieving for her loss and begging for his father. Lennon's Dylanesque "Working Class Hero" is another standout track; in less vitriolic tone he croons: "A working class hero is something to be, if you want to be a hero then just follow me". The irony is that Lennon was textbook middle-class and his agony stemmed from the fact that he wanted to be working-class.

The work was a cathartic exorcism for Lennon, most revealing on "God", in which he voiced the heretical, "I don't believe in the Beatles...", before adding, "I just believe in me, Yoko and me, and that's reality." More than any other work in the Lennon canon, this was a farewell to the past. The album was brilliant, and 20 or more years later, it is regarded as his finest complete work. His most creative year was 1971. Following the album Lennon released another strong single, "Power To The People". After his move to New York, the follow-up Imagine was released in October. Whilst the album immediately went to number 1 internationally, it was a patchy collection. The attack on Paul McCartney in "How Do You Sleep?" was labored over in the press and it took two decades before another track, "Jealous Guy", was accepted as a classic, and only then after Bryan Ferry's masterly cover became a number 1 hit. Lennon's resentment towards politicians was superbly documented in "Gimme Some Truth" when he spat out, "I'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight, shortsighted, narrow-minded hypocrites".

The title track, however, remains as one of his greatest songs. Musically "Imagine" is extraordinarily simple, but the combination of that simplicity and the timeless lyrics make it one of the finest songs of the century. A Christmas single came in December, "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)", another song destined for immortality and annual reissue. Again, an embarrassingly simple message: "War is over if you want it". The following year Sometime In New York City was issued; this double set contained a number of political songs, and was written during the peak of Lennon's involvement with hippie-radical, Jerry Rubin. Lennon addresses numerous problems with angry lyrics over deceptively melodic songs. The lilting and seemingly innocent "Luck Of The Irish" is one example of melody with scathing comment. The album's strongest track is yet another song with one of Lennon's statement-like titles: "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World". Once again he was ahead of the game, making a bold plea for women's rights a decade before it became fashionable. The following year he embarked on his struggle against deportation and the fight for his famous "green card".

At the end of a comparatively quiet 1973, Lennon released Mind Games, an album that highlighted problems between him and Yoko. Shortly afterwards, Lennon left for his "lost weekend" and spent many months in Los Angeles in a haze of drugs and alcohol. During a brief sober moment he produced Nilsson's Pussycats. At the end of a dreadful year, Lennon released Walls And Bridges , which contained more marital material and a surprise US number 1, "Whatever Gets You Through The Night", a powerful rocker with Lennon sounding in complete control. That month (November 1974), he made his last ever concert appearance when he appeared on-stage at Madison Square Garden with Elton John. That night Lennon was reunited with Ono and, in his words, "the separation failed". Rock 'N' Roll was released the next year; it was a tight and energetic celebration of many of his favorite songs, including "Slippin' And Slidin'", "Peggy Sue" and a superb "Stand By Me". The critics and public loved it and it reached number 6 on both sides of the Atlantic.

Following the birth of their son Sean, Lennon became a house husband, while Ono looked after their not inconsiderable business interests. Five years later, a new album was released to a relieved public and went straight to number 1 virtually worldwide. The following month, with fans still jubilant at Lennon's return, he was suddenly brutally murdered by a gunman outside his apartment building in Manhattan. Almost from the moment that Lennon's heart stopped in the Roosevelt Hospital the whole world reacted in unprecedented mourning, with scenes usually reserved for royalty and world leaders. His records were re-released and experienced similar sales and chart positions to that of the Beatles' heyday. While all this happened, one could "imagine" Lennon calmly looking down on us, watching the world's reaction, and having a huge celestial laugh. Lennon had a brilliant sense of humor and a deeply romantic heart. He could be cruel and unbelievably kind; he could love you one minute and destroy you with his tongue a few minutes later. Opinions as to his character are subjective. What is undeniable, is that the body of songs he created with Paul McCartney is the finest popular music catalogue ever known.

His composition "Imagine" was voted one of the songs of the millennium, and for many of us has more power and meaning than any national anthem. Thanks... Our thanks go out to The Beatles Music site for supplying this text on The History of The Beatles. “All we are saying is give peace a chance.”- John Lennon “All we are saying is give peace a chance.”- John Lennon Posted in Arts & Entertainment , Education , History , Outside Winnipeg , Reviews “All we are saying is give peace a chance.”- John Lennon That’s the message in Portage LaPrairie at the Fort La Reine Museum as a collection of unseen photos of the famous ‘Bed-in’ are on exhibit until the end of September. The exhibit ‘Give Peace A Chance’ at Fort La Reine Museum is full of surprises Fort La Reine Museum has a collection of photos of the John Lennon ‘bed-in’ that not many people have ever seen before. Brooklyn born Time-Life photographer Gerry Deiter, who was working in Montreal at the time, was assigned to cover the story. He was the only photographer to be there for the entire eight days (Lennon actually encouraged him to do so).

For some reason or other, his photos were not used by the magazine and Deiter held onto the negatives for all those years. Flash-forward to Decenber 8, 2005 (the 25th anniversary of Lennon’s death) when Deiter was living in Victoria, BC. The Royal British Columbia Museum was holding a tribute to Lennon and asked Deiter to speak a few words about his visit with the Lennons. Deiter mentioned how he was blessed by the responsibility he felt “to help propagate John Lennon’s message of peace and compassion.” Sadly, Gerry Deiter passed away the very next day. Shortly before his passing, he emailed his friend (and curator of this show) Joan E. Athey, and mentioned to her what a profound impact that those eight days had on his life. In her curator’s message, Athey stated that “it has become my mission to finish off the job he (Deiter) started, to inspire others to freely express themselves through art…” So, she sifted through the 500 negatives that her friend had taken during the ‘Bed-in’ and selected over 30 images for this exhibit.

The exhibit also includes replicas of some of the clothes worn by Lennon, a display of guitars and memorabilia, an artist’s (Stephen N. Austin) drawings of some of the photos, and an area simulating room 1742, with a bed which visitors are encouraged to climb on and take photos. There is also a wish tree (a project started by Yoko Ono), where visitors are asked to write their wish on a paper ‘leaf’ and hang it on a branch of the tree. Lennon’s music is playing in the background and the video ‘John and Yoko – Give Peace A Song’ is playing in one corner of the room. Four of Gerry Deiter’s photos and Yoko Ono’s ‘Wish Tree’ with its leaves of visitors’ wishes. Athey actually brought the exhibit to many places around the world. The most interesting venue though, was when she brought the exhibit to the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal this year on the 45th anniversary of the event. The message that John Lennon and Yoko Ono were trying to convey to the world 45 years ago when they launched their ‘Bed-In For Peace’ was that, we can have peace if we want it.

The Bed-in started in Amsterdam on March 25, 1969, a week after they were married. Originally they planned to do phase two of the ‘Bed-in’ in New York, but the US was trying to deport him at the time. So, on May 26, 1969, they decided to occupy the 17th floor of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal for eight days. It was in room 1742 where Lennon wrote and recorded the now famous anti-war anthem, ‘Give Peace a Chance.’ John Lennon and Yoko Ono welcomed and talked with many visitors throughout their stay including Tom Smothers (whose TV show was canceled as a result of his speaking out against the war), a group of Hare Krishnas, who were friends of Lennnon, and Timothy Leary.

Recording ‘Give Peace a Chance with Tom Smothers (guitar), his friend Judi Marcioni Steinberg, Dr.Timothy Leary and wife Rosemarie (in foreground) Yoko Ono actually came up with the title of the song when a group of Vietnam anti-war protestors, who were about to be tear-gassed, spoke to Lennon on the phone and he encouraged them to demonstrate peacefully. He then passed the phone to Ono who said to them, “All we are saying is give peace a chance.” This was the amazing chemistry between these two who were so much in love. Lennon decided to make an impromptu recording of the song in the room and he called record producer, André Perry, shortly after midnight and asked him to do the recording the next day. It’s quite amazing that he made such a great recording in this crude recording space with people drumming on coffee tables, slamming phone books and kicking doors. The Hare Krishnas provided a lot of the actual drumming on the recording. The Hare Krishnas, friends of John Lennon, provided a large part of the back-beat for the recording of “Give Peace a Chance”.

Yoko Ono, being the avant-garde artist that she was, saw the event as a piece of performance art. Lennon expressed the opinion that his message was one of humor and said that, the methods used by Martin Luther King and Gandhi made peace too serious and people resented that. “When you’ve got someone smiling, you’re halfway there,” Lennon once said. Ono added, “We’re saying we’re an ordinary couple in extraordinary circumstances who happen to want peace…” And indeed, peace is what they strived for. In December of 1969, they launched their billboard campaign using “modern methods” where John Lennon and Yoko Ono booked large billboards to “sell peace the way others sell soap”. The simple message was “War Is Over…If you want it…Merry Christmas from John and Yoko”. The billboards showed up in many places around the world including Montreal, New York and Tokyo. I talked with Tracey Turner, the Executive Director of the Fort La Reine Museum, who is no stranger to unearthing historical artifacts. Turner worked as an archaeologist prior to becoming the manager of the museum four years ago.

She became the Executive Director in the spring of this year and worked on bringing the exhibit to the museum for the last two years. It was a long haul and the show, which opened May 6, was actually delayed for a week after it was held up at the border for longer than usual. Turner is responsible for adding some nice little touches to the exhibit that weren’t part of the show in other cities. She said, many schools in the surrounding areas have visited the exhibit, adding that it is very popular and attendance is higher this year than last year. It was nice to see the ‘Give Peace A Chance’ banner outside the museum as I drove into Portage La Prairie. I spoke with two of the visitors who were clearly enjoying their visit. Robb Paterson and Robert Gordon (both huge Beatles fans) from Winnipeg, were fascinated by the exhibit and said they both learned a few more things about Lennon that they didn’t know about. Both men were teenaged paperboys delivering newspapers when they saw the headlines of the ‘Bed-in’ and can vividly remember the TV and radio coverage of the event. Gordon commented how the message is even more relevant today than ever.

Paterson has visited all the Beatles fans’ places of pilgrimage, including the Liverpool tour of the old Beatles places of interest, the Dakota Hotel, Strawberry Fields (in New York) and now Portage La Prairie, smack dab in the middle of Manitoba, Canada. Robert Gordon and Robb Paterson of Winnipeg got the message…’PEACE’ The exhibit was supposed to end on September 20 but is being held over until September 30. The Fort La Reine Museum is located at 692 Saskatchewan Avenue East in Portage LaPrairie. Hours are Wednesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum also has many other interesting exhibitions, tours and collections, such as the Pioneer Village, and boasts one of the largest collections of vintage farm machinery in the world. September 19th and 20th, they will be hosting ‘Mystery at the Museum’ with a guided candlelight tour of the museum grounds which provide the setting for a historical play that will leave you spellbound.

For more information on the Fort La Reine Museum visit their website at fortlareinemuseum.com For more information on curator Joan E. Athey (Peaceworks Now Productions, Victoria, B.C.) go to All photos by Doug Kretchmer About Doug Kretchmer Doug's artistic endeavours include photography, video art, drawing, poetry and acting. He also has a background in alternative radio in Vancouver where he produced and programmed a radio show from 1997 to 2001. He is involved in Winnipeg's art scene as an active member of Ace Art, Art From the Heart, Platform Gallery and as a producer member of Videopool, where he served as a board member from 2003 to 2009. He is enjoying writing for the CNC, sharing stories and giving a voice to people who might not otherwise be heard. One response to ““All we are saying is give peace a chance.”- John Lennon” Gregory McNeill Fort la Reine Museum | Give Peace a Chance - YouTube Fort la Reine Museum | Give Peace a Chance Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content.

Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jul 1, 2014 Experience the emotional journey as the photography of Life Magazine's Gerry Deiter takes you back to 1969 when Beatle, John Lennon and Yoko Ono were pioneers for Peace in Canada with the exhibit "Give Peace a Chance". Celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Peace anthem, Give Peace a Chance that was performed by John & Yoko and friends, and recorded at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal June 1, 1969. The exhibition opens June 9th -September 20. - See more at: #stha... Cinematography by: Jeremy Morantz & Miranda Moroz Edited By: Miranda Moroz Disclaimer: The audio was purchased by Dan Donahue, with understanding that this track was royalty free; through iTunes to be used for Fort la Reine Museum's radio commercial and advertising. All rights reserved to the original artist.

Category John Lennon - The Beatles Music John Lennon Born on October 9, 1940, Liverpool, England, died December 8, 1980, New York City, New York, USA. John Winston Ono Lennon has been exhumed in print more than any other popular musical figure, including the late Elvis Presley , of whom Lennon said that he "died when he went into the army". Such was the cutting wit of a deeply loved and sadly missed giant of the twentieth century. As a member of the world's most successful group ever, he changed lives, mostly for the better. Following the painful collapse of the Beatles, he came out a wiser but angrier person. Together with his wife Yoko Ono , he attempted to transform the world through nonmusical means. To many they appeared as nave crackpots; Ono in particular has been victim of some appalling insults in the press. One example shown in the film Imagine depicts the cartoonist Al Capp being both hostile and dangerously abusive. Their bed-in in Amsterdam and Montreal, their black bag appearances on stage, their innocent flirting with political activists and radicals, all received massive media attention.

These events were in search of world peace, which regrettably was unachievable. What Lennon did achieve, however, was to educate us all to the idea of world peace. During the Gulf War of 1991, time and time again various representatives of those countries who were initially opposed to war (and then asked for a cease-fire), unconsciously used Lennon's words; "Give Peace A Chance". The importance of that lyric could never have been contemplated, when a bunch of mostly stoned members of the Plastic Ono Band sat on the floor of the Hotel La Reine and recorded "Give Peace A Chance", a song that has grown in stature since its release in 1969. Lennon's solo career began a year earlier with Unfinished Music No 1 - Two Virgins . The sleeve depicted him and Ono standing naked, and the cover became better known than the disjointed sound effects contained within. Three months later Lennon continued his marvelous joke on us, with Unfinished Music No 2 - Life With The Lions . One side consisted of John and Yoko calling out to each other during her stay in a London hospital while pregnant.

Lennon camped by the side of her bed during her confinement and subsequent miscarriage. Four months after "Give Peace a Chance", "Cold Turkey" arrived via the Plastic Ono Band, consisting of Lennon, Ono, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White. This raw rock song about heroin withdrawal was also a hit, although it failed to make the UK Top 10. Again, Lennon's incorrigible wit worked when he sent back his MBE to the Queen, protesting about the Biafran war, Britain supporting the American involvement in Vietnam and "Cold Turkey" slipping down the charts. In February 1970, a freshly cropped-headed Lennon was seen performing "Instant Karma" on the BBC Television program Top Of The Pops ; this drastic action was another antiwar protest. This Phil Spector - produced offering was his most melodic post-Beatles song to date and was his biggest hit thus far in the UK and the USA. The release of John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band in January 1971 was a shock to the system for most Beatles' fans. This stark "primal scream" album was recorded following treatment with Dr. Arthur Janov.

It is as brilliant as it is disturbing. Lennon poured out much of his bitterness from his childhood and adolescence, neat and undiluted. The screaming "Mother" finds Lennon grieving for her loss and begging for his father. Lennon's Dylanesque "Working Class Hero" is another standout track; in less vitriolic tone he croons: "A working class hero is something to be, if you want to be a hero then just follow me". The irony is that Lennon was textbook middle-class and his agony stemmed from the fact that he wanted to be working-class. The work was a cathartic exorcism for Lennon, most revealing on "God", in which he voiced the heretical, "I don't believe in the Beatles...", before adding, "I just believe in me, Yoko and me, and that's reality." More than any other work in the Lennon canon, this was a farewell to the past. The album was brilliant, and 20 or more years later, it is regarded as his finest complete work. His most creative year was 1971. Following the album Lennon released another strong single, "Power To The People".

After his move to New York, the follow-up Imagine was released in October. Whilst the album immediately went to number 1 internationally, it was a patchy collection. The attack on Paul McCartney in "How Do You Sleep?" was labored over in the press and it took two decades before another track, "Jealous Guy", was accepted as a classic, and only then after Bryan Ferry's masterly cover became a number 1 hit. Lennon's resentment towards politicians was superbly documented in "Gimme Some Truth" when he spat out, "I'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight, shortsighted, narrow-minded hypocrites". The title track, however, remains as one of his greatest songs. Musically "Imagine" is extraordinarily simple, but the combination of that simplicity and the timeless lyrics make it one of the finest songs of the century. A Christmas single came in December, "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)", another song destined for immortality and annual reissue. Again, an embarrassingly simple message: "War is over if you want it".

The following year Sometime In New York City was issued; this double set contained a number of political songs, and was written during the peak of Lennon's involvement with hippie-radical, Jerry Rubin. Lennon addresses numerous problems with angry lyrics over deceptively melodic songs. The lilting and seemingly innocent "Luck Of The Irish" is one example of melody with scathing comment. The album's strongest track is yet another song with one of Lennon's statement-like titles: "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World". Once again he was ahead of the game, making a bold plea for women's rights a decade before it became fashionable. The following year he embarked on his struggle against deportation and the fight for his famous "green card". At the end of a comparatively quiet 1973, Lennon released Mind Games, an album that highlighted problems between him and Yoko. Shortly afterwards, Lennon left for his "lost weekend" and spent many months in Los Angeles in a haze of drugs and alcohol. During a brief sober moment he produced Nilsson's Pussycats.

At the end of a dreadful year, Lennon released Walls And Bridges , which contained more marital material and a surprise US number 1, "Whatever Gets You Through The Night", a powerful rocker with Lennon sounding in complete control. That month (November 1974), he made his last ever concert appearance when he appeared on-stage at Madison Square Garden with Elton John. That night Lennon was reunited with Ono and, in his words, "the separation failed". Rock 'N' Roll was released the next year; it was a tight and energetic celebration of many of his favorite songs, including "Slippin' And Slidin'", "Peggy Sue" and a superb "Stand By Me". The critics and public loved it and it reached number 6 on both sides of the Atlantic. Following the birth of their son Sean, Lennon became a house husband, while Ono looked after their not inconsiderable business interests. Five years later, a new album was released to a relieved public and went straight to number 1 virtually worldwide. The following month, with fans still jubilant at Lennon's return, he was suddenly brutally murdered by a gunman outside his apartment building in Manhattan.

Almost from the moment that Lennon's heart stopped in the Roosevelt Hospital the whole world reacted in unprecedented mourning, with scenes usually reserved for royalty and world leaders. His records were re-released and experienced similar sales and chart positions to that of the Beatles' heyday. While all this happened, one could "imagine" Lennon calmly looking down on us, watching the world's reaction, and having a huge celestial laugh. Lennon had a brilliant sense of humor and a deeply romantic heart. He could be cruel and unbelievably kind; he could love you one minute and destroy you with his tongue a few minutes later. Opinions as to his character are subjective. What is undeniable, is that the body of songs he created with Paul McCartney is the finest popular music catalogue ever known. His composition "Imagine" was voted one of the songs of the millennium, and for many of us has more power and meaning than any national anthem. John Lennon Biography John Lennon Biography (1940 - 1980) 01.12.11: A Life In Words Blow the heart wide open b. 9 October 1940, Liverpool, England, d.

8 December 1980, New York City, New York, USA. John Winston Ono Lennon has been exhumed in print more than any other popular musical figure, including the late Elvis Presley, of whom Lennon said that he "died when he went into the army". Such was the cutting wit of a deeply loved and sadly missed giant of the twentieth century. As a member of the world's most successful group ever, he changed lives, mostly for the better. Following the painful collapse of the Beatles, he came out a wiser but angrier person. Together with his wife Yoko Ono, he attempted to transform the world through non-musical means. To many they appeared as naïve crackpots; Ono in particular has been victim of some appalling insults in the press. One example shown in the film Imagine depicts the cartoonist Al Capp being both hostile and dangerously abusive. Their bed-in in Amsterdam and Montreal, their black bag appearances on stage, their innocent flirting with political activists and radicals, all received massive media attention. These events were in search of world peace, which regrettably was unachievable. What Lennon did achieve, however, was to educate us all to the idea of world peace.

During the Gulf War of 1991, time and time again various representatives of those countries who were initially opposed to war (and then asked for a cease-fire), unconsciously used Lennon's words; Give Peace A Chance. The importance of that lyric could never have been contemplated, when a bunch of mostly stoned members of the Plastic Ono Band sat on the floor of the Hotel La Reine and recorded Give Peace A Chance, a song that has grown in stature since its release in 1969. Lennon's solo career began a year earlier with Unfinished Music No 1 - Two Virgins. The sleeve depicted him and Ono standing naked, and the cover became better known than the disjointed sound effects contained within. Three months later Lennon continued his marvellous joke on us, with Unfinished Music No 2 - Life With The Lions. One side consisted of John and Yoko calling out to each other during her stay in a London hospital while pregnant. Lennon camped by the side of her bed during her confinement and subsequent miscarriage.

Four months after Give Peace a Chance, Cold Turkey arrived via the Plastic Ono Band, consisting of Lennon, Ono, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White. This raw rock song about heroin withdrawal was also a hit, although it failed to make the UK Top 10. Again, Lennon's incorrigible wit worked when he sent back his MBE to the Queen, protesting about the Biafran war, Britain supporting the American involvement in Vietnam and Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. In February 1970, a freshly cropped-headed Lennon was seen performing Instant Karma on the BBC Television programme Top Of The Pops; this drastic action was another anti-war protest. This Phil Spector-produced offering was his most melodic post-Beatles song to date and was his biggest hit thus far in the UK and the USA. The release of John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band in January 1971 was a shock to the system for most Beatles" fans. This stark "primal scream" album was recorded following treatment with Dr. Arthur Janov. It is as brilliant as it is disturbing. Lennon poured out much of his bitterness from his childhood and adolescence, neat and undiluted.

The screaming Mother finds Lennon grieving for her loss and begging for his father. Lennon's Dylanesque Working Class Hero is another stand-out track; in less vitriolic tone he croons: A working class hero is something to be, if you want to be a hero then just follow me. The irony is that Lennon was textbook middle-class and his agony stemmed from the fact that he wanted to be working-class. The work was a cathartic exorcism for Lennon, most revealing on God, in which he voiced the heretical, I don't believe in the Beatles . . ., before adding, I just believe in me, Yoko and me, and that's reality. More than any other work in the Lennon canon, this was a farewell to the past. The album was brilliant, and 20 or more years later, it is regarded as his finest complete work. Print Available: Allposters.com. John Lennon signed items available @ ebay.com (direct link to signed items) - just checked and a bigger selection than I have seen anywhere else His most creative year was 1971. Following the album Lennon released another strong single, Power To The People.

After his move to New York, the follow-up Imagine was released in October. Whilst the album immediately went to number 1 internationally, it was a patchy collection. The attack on Paul McCartney in How Do You Sleep? was laboured over in the press and it took two decades before another track, Jealous Guy, was accepted as a classic, and only then after Bryan Ferry's masterly cover became a number 1 hit. Lennon's resentment towards politicians was superbly documented in Gimme Some Truth when he spat out, I'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites. The title track, however, remains as one of his greatest songs. Musically Imagine is extraordinarily simple, but the combination of that simplicity and the timeless lyrics make it one of the finest songs of the century. A Christmas single came in December, Happy Christmas (War Is Over), another song destined for immortality and annual reissue. Again, an embarrassingly simple message: War is over if you want it. The following year Sometime In New York City was issued; this double set contained a number of political songs, and was written during the peak of Lennon's involvement with hippie-radical, Jerry Rubin.

Lennon addresses numerous problems with angry lyrics over deceptively melodic songs. The lilting and seemingly innocent "Luck Of The Irish" is one example of melody with scathing comment. The album's strongest track is yet another song with one of Lennon's statement-like titles: "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World". Once again he was ahead of the game, making a bold plea for women's rights a decade before it became fashionable. The following year he embarked on his struggle against deportation and the fight for his famous "green card". At the end of a comparatively quiet 1973, Lennon released Mind Games, an album that highlighted problems between him and Yoko. Shortly afterwards, Lennon left for his "lost weekend" and spent many months in Los Angeles in a haze of drugs and alcohol. During a brief sober moment he produced Nilsson's Pussycats. At the end of a dreadful year, Lennon released Walls And Bridges, which contained more marital material and a surprise US number 1, Whatever Gets You Through The Night, a powerful rocker with Lennon sounding in complete control. That month (November 1974), he made his last ever concert appearance when he appeared onstage at Madison Square Garden with Elton John.

That night Lennon was reunited with Ono and, in his words, "the separation failed". Rock 'N' Roll was released the next year; it was a tight and energetic celebration of many of his favourite songs, including "Slippin' And Slidin'", "Peggy Sue" and a superb "Stand By Me'. The critics and public loved it and it reached number 6 on both sides of the Atlantic. Following the birth of their son Sean, Lennon became a house husband, while Ono looked after their not inconsiderable business interests. Five years later, a new album was released to a relieved public and went straight to number 1 virtually worldwide. The following month, with fans still jubilant at Lennon's return, he was suddenly brutally murdered by a gunman outside his apartment building in Manhattan. Almost from the moment that Lennon's heart stopped in the Roosevelt Hospital the whole world reacted in unprecedented mourning, with scenes usually reserved for royalty and world leaders. His records were re-released and experienced similar sales and chart positions to that of the Beatles" heyday. While all this happened, one could "imagine" Lennon calmly looking down on us, watching the world's reaction, and having a huge celestial laugh.

Lennon had a brilliant sense of humour and a deeply romantic heart. He could be cruel and unbelievably kind; he could love you one minute and destroy you with his tongue a few minutes later. Opinions as to his character are subjective. What is undeniable, is that the body of songs he created with Paul McCartney is the finest popular music catalogue ever known. His composition "Imagine" was voted one of the songs of the millennium, and for many of us has more power and meaning than any national anthem. 08.12.80: On This Day (BBC News) Former Beatle John Lennon has been shot dead by an unknown gunman who opened fire outside the musician's New York apartment. The 40-year-old was shot several times as he entered the Dakota, his luxury apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side, opposite Central Park, at 2300 local time. He was rushed in a police car to St Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center, where he died. His wife, Yoko Ono, who is understood to have witnessed the attack, was with him. SHOTS HEARD A police spokesman said a suspect was in custody, but he had no other details of the shooting.

"This was no robbery," the spokesman said, adding that Mr Lennon was probably shot by a "deranged" person. Witness reports say at least three shots were fired and others have claimed they heard six. There are also reports Mr Lennon staggered up six steps into the vestibule after he was shot, before collapsing. Jack Douglas, Lennon's producer, said he and the Lennons had been at a studio called the Record Plant in mid-town earlier in the evening and Lennon left at 2230. Mr Lennon said he planned to have some dinner and then return home, Mr Douglas said. FANS AT SCENE The Lennons are said to have left their limousine on the street and walked up the driveway when the gunman opened fire. It is unclear whether the man had been lying in wait in the entrance to the building for Mr Lennon, or whether he came up behind him. Witnesses describe the gunman as a "pudgy kind of man", 35 to 40 years old with brown hair. Other former band members, Paul McCartney, guitarist George Harrison and drummer Ringo Starr are thought to have been informed of Lennon's murder. Fans have already begun arriving at the scene, many still unaware Lennon has died.

Mr Lennon is survived by his wife, their son Sean, and his son from a previous marriage, Julian. John-Lennon.com - Bio, Discography, Lyrics, Photos, Videos and Articles John-Lennon.com Unfinished Music, No. 1: Two Virgins 1969 Life with the Lions: Unfinished Music #2 1969 Live in New York City 1986 This Site Is Dedicated To The Greatest Singer Songwriter And The Most Influential Political Artist Of The 20th Century JohnWinstonLennon.com John Winston Ono Lennon has been exhumed in print more than any other popular musical figure, including the late Elvis Presley , of whom Lennon said that he "died when he went into the army". Such was the cutting wit of a deeply loved and sadly missed giant of the twentieth century. As a member of the world's most successful group ever, he changed lives, mostly for the better. Following the painful collapse of The Beatles , he came out a wiser but angrier person. Together with his wife Yoko Ono , he attempted to transform the world through non-musical means.

To many they appeared as naive crackpots; Ono in particular has been victim of some appalling insults in the press. One example shown in the film Imagine depicts the cartoonist Al Capp being both hostile and dangerously abusive. Their bed-in in Amsterdam and Montreal, their black bag appearances on stage, their innocent flirting with political activists and radicals, all received massive media attention. These events were in search of world peace, which regrettably was unachievable. What Lennon did achieve, however, was to educate us all to the idea of world peace. During the Gulf War of 1991, time and time again various representatives of those countries who were initially opposed to war (and then asked for a cease-fire), unconsciously used Lennon's words; "Give Peace A Chance". The importance of that lyric could never have been contemplated, when a bunch of mostly stoned members of the Plastic Ono Band sat on the floor of the Hotel La Reine and recorded "Give Peace A Chance", a song that has grown in stature since its release in 1969. Lennon's solo career began a year earlier with Unfinished Music No 1 - Two Virgins.

The sleeve depicted him and Ono standing naked, and the cover became better known than the disjointed sound effects contained within. Three months later Lennon continued his marvellous joke on us, with Unfinished Music No 2 - Life With The Lions. One side consisted of John and Yoko calling out to each other during her stay in a London hospital while pregnant. Lennon camped by the side of her bed during her confinement and subsequent miscarriage. Four months after "Give Peace a Chance", "Cold Turkey" arrived via the Plastic Ono Band, consisting of Lennon, Ono, Eric Clapton , Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White. This raw rock song about heroin withdrawal was also a hit, although it failed to make the UK Top 10. Again, Lennon's incorrigible wit worked when he sent back his MBE to the Queen, protesting about the Biafran war, Britain supporting the American involvement in Vietnam and "Cold Turkey" slipping down the charts. In February 1970, a freshly cropped-headed Lennon was seen performing "Instant Karma' on the BBC Television programme Top Of The Pops; this drastic action was another anti-war protest.

This Phil Spector-produced offering was his most melodic post-Beatles song to date and was his biggest hit thus far in the UK and the USA. The release of John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band in January 1971 was a shock to the system for most Beatles" fans. This stark "primal scream" album was recorded following treatment with Dr. Arthur Janov. It is as brilliant as it is disturbing. Lennon poured out much of his bitterness from his childhood and adolescence, neat and undiluted. The screaming "Mother" finds Lennon grieving for her loss and begging for his father. Lennon's Dylanesque " Working Class Hero " is another stand-out track; in less vitriolic tone he croons: "A working class hero is something to be, if you want to be a hero then just follow me". The irony is that Lennon was textbook middle-class and his agony stemmed from the fact that he wanted to be working-class. The work was a cathartic exorcism for Lennon, most revealing on "God", in which he voiced the heretical, "I don't believe in the Beatles . . .

", before adding, "I just believe in me, Yoko and me, and that's reality." More than any other work in the Lennon canon, this was a farewell to the past. The album was brilliant, and 20 or more years later, it is regarded as his finest complete work. His most creative year was 1971. Following the album Lennon released another strong single, "Power To The People". After his move to New York, the follow-up Imagine was released in October. Whilst the album immediately went to number 1 internationally, it was a patchy collection. The attack on Paul McCartney in "How Do You Sleep?" was laboured over in the press and it took two decades before another track, "Jealous Guy", was accepted as a classic, and only then after Bryan Ferry's masterly cover became a number 1 hit. Lennon's resentment towards politicians was superbly documented in "Gimme Some Truth" when he spat out, "I'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites". The title track, however, remains as one of his greatest songs.

Musically "Imagine" is extraordinarily simple, but the combination of that simplicity and the timeless lyrics make it one of the finest songs of the century. A Christmas single came in December, " Happy Christmas (War Is Over) ", another song destined for immortality and annual reissue. Again, an embarrassingly simple message: "War is over if you want it". The following year Sometime In New York City was issued; this double set contained a number of political songs, and was written during the peak of Lennon's involvement with hippie-radical, Jerry Rubin. Lennon addresses numerous problems with angry lyrics over deceptively melodic songs. The lilting and seemingly innocent "Luck Of The Irish" is one example of melody with scathing comment. The album's strongest track is yet another song with one of Lennon's statement-like titles: "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World". Once again he was ahead of the game, making a bold plea for women's rights a decade before it became fashionable. The following year he embarked on his struggle against deportation and the fight for his famous "green card". At the end of a comparatively quiet 1973, Lennon released Mind Games, an album that highlighted problems between him and Yoko.

Shortly afterwards, Lennon left for his "lost weekend" and spent many months in Los Angeles in a haze of drugs and alcohol. During a brief sober moment he produced Nilsson's Pussycats. At the end of a dreadful year, Lennon released Walls And Bridges, which contained more marital material and a surprise US number 1, "Whatever Gets You Through The Night", a powerful rocker with Lennon sounding in complete control. That month (November 1974), he made his last ever concert appearance when he appeared onstage at Madison Square Garden with Elton John . That night Lennon was reunited with Ono and, in his words, "the separation failed". Rock 'N' Roll was released the next year; it was a tight and energetic celebration of many of his favourite songs, including "Slippin' And Slidin'", "Peggy Sue" and a superb "Stand By Me'. The critics and public loved it and it reached number 6 on both sides of the Atlantic. Following the birth of their son Sean, Lennon became a house husband, while Ono looked after their not inconsiderable business interests. Five years later, a new album was released to a relieved public and went straight to number 1 virtually worldwide.

The following month, with fans still jubilant at Lennon's return, he was suddenly brutally murdered by a gunman outside his apartment building in Manhattan. Almost from the moment that Lennon's heart stopped in the Roosevelt Hospital the whole world reacted in unprecedented mourning, with scenes usually reserved for royalty and world leaders. His records were re-released and experienced similar sales and chart positions to that of the Beatles" heyday. While all this happened, one could "imagine" Lennon calmly looking down on us, watching the world's reaction, and having a huge celestial laugh. Lennon had a brilliant sense of humour and a deeply romantic heart. He could be cruel and unbelievably kind; he could love you one minute and destroy you with his tongue a few minutes later. Opinions as to his character are subjective. What is undeniable, is that the body of songs he created with Paul McCartney is the finest popular music catalogue ever known. His composition "Imagine" was voted one of the songs of the millennium, and for many of us has more power and meaning than any national anthem. Another John Lennon Biography For me, John is still alive. I believe he's still with us, looking over Yoko, Sean and Julian.

If you are reading this John, remember that I will never loose faith in you, and say hi to George for us. Even though I'm only 13, you're forever going to be my hero, because of giving your life for Love and Peace. I'm a great fan of The Beatles, and I beleive that they were the best rock & roll group in music history. Not many people my age understand me well. They don't understand why I like The Beatles and why John Lennon is forever going to be my hero. They don't understand why a 13 year old girl would be into The Beatles, John Lennon and George Harrison. All I've got to say about this Message Board, is that it helped me in a sort of way, tell the whole world how I fell about a man, who for no reasons, died. Remember, War Is Over If You Want It. Jo, a 13 year old girl from Canada

Question: John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded ‘Give Peace a Chance’ at the Hotel La Reine in which city in Canada in 1969?
Answer: Montreal